2011: Season in Review (The Defense)

Source: KU Sports

So, the 2011 Kansas Jayhawks Defense is today’s topic of discussion. It’s not going to be fun, so you may want to avert your eyes, but in my defense, I presaged you. So, here we are.  It’s March and spring football practice just kicked off yesterday. I hope Dave Campo and company are tackling (pun intended) the problems that ailed the team right now, but we will find that out on the other side. For now, it’s time to review your very own, league leading point allowing defense, the 2011 Kansas Jayhawks.

The Defense:

Porous, infantile, non-existent. That was the 2011 Kansas Jayhawks Defense. Well, let me qualify: that was the 2011 Kansas Jayhawks Defense for the better part of the season. During the latter part of the season the group made progress, but when you are surrendering 45 plus a pop, there is only room left to improve.

The D gave up at least 59 points in 4 games, and at least 40 points in 8 games. It was refreshing when they gradually got better, but it came when the offense got progressively worse. It held Iowa State to just 13 points (lost 13-10), held a 10-3 halftime lead over Missouri after scoring a defensive touchdown and forcing 3 interceptions (lost 24-10), and held Baylor to 3 points through 3 quarters.

The end of the season hurrah was great and all, but it was too little too late. Georgia Tech racked up 66 points and a school-record 604 yards rushing. Oklahoma State pulled almost all of its starters out of the game…before the first half (leading 56-7). Collin Klein looked the part of a Heisman finalist. Suffice to say, it wasn’t easy to watch. The D ranked dead last nationally in total defense by 6 full yards per game, and last nationally by two full points per game.

Defensive Line: 

This is where most problems were manifested: up front. No push. No errant passes or deflections. Nothing. Junior FB converted RB converted DE (mind you) Toben Opurum injected a little bit of life into the carcass that was the d-line, and if he can get some help from his supporting cast and doesn’t get double teamed on passing situations, I think he could be all Big 12 next season. Opurum marked 45 tackles (27 solo), he had 10.5 TFLs (!), 4 sacks, 1 pass breakup (!), 7 QB hurries (!), and one forced fumble. Sophomore DE Keba Agostinho is endearing because of the effort he gives, but he is not a DE. He needs to be moved inside. Agostinho had 33 tackles (18 solo), 2 TFLs, a sack, 1 QB hurry, and 2 forced fumbles. Senior DT Richard Johnson Jr. could not figure it out, recording 16 tackles (10 solo), and 2 TFLs. Senior DT Pat Dorsey was hampered by injury and was slowed, but he gave the Jayhawks 14 tackles (8 solo), and 3 TFLs. Sophomore DT Shane Smith gave great effort and 8 tackles (3 solo), 1 pass breakup, and 1 QB hurry. Freshman DE Michael Reynolds looked the part and has a lot of room to grow, recording 7 solo tackles, 1 TFL, and 2 pass breakups. The kid has a nose for the football. Sophomore DT Randall Dent played mostly in mop up minutes, accounting for 6 tackles (4 solo), and 2 TFLs. Freshman DE/DT Pat Lewandowski had 6 tackles (2 solo), had 2 TFLs, a sack, 2 pass breakups, and 3 QB hurries. Senior DT John Williams was missed after an early injury, which came likely as a result of the work of another Jon Williams. The Hawks also got some minutes from senior DT Michael Martinovich and sophomore DT Kevin Young. Young was great as a defensive end for Olathe North, but he was down about a half-hundo pounds. Now that he is trying to play inside at the collegiate level, he has put on a lot of weight. The thing is, it just seems to be a lot of bad, bad weight. I think that his frame just doesn’t hold beef very well, so it has slowed him and possibly abated his skill set.

     

Linebackers: 

This group was headlined by macho man senior Steven Johnson. Outside of him, not much really happened, but here is to Steven, who gave unparalleled effort on every play, every day, every single year he was a Jayhawk. Johnson had an interception, another one overturned by video, an acrobatic fumble recovery, 119 tackles (64 solo), 6 TFLs, 2 pass breakups, 1 QB hurry, and 2 forced fumbles. Smokes. The guy was an animal and he will be sorely missed. Sophomore transfer Darius Willis was adequate, but he didn’t live up to his billing. Hopefully next season he can provide Kansas a better outside threat. Willis tallied 81 tackles (48 solo), 8 TFLs, and a sack. Junior Tunde Bakare was limited by injury and by inexperience, but when he did play, he was a searing missile, playing with a reckless abandon. On pure athleticism and ferocity alone, Bakare racked up 52 tackles (25 solo), 1 TFL, 1 pass break up, and 1 QB hurry. I expect him to have a lot more QB hurries next fall when he better understands his stunts and moves. The guy is a physical specimen. Junior walk-on Isaac Wright was dependable, recording 35 tackles (14 solo). Junior Malcolm Walker was anything but your typical walk-on, with 23 tackles (12 solo), 2 TFLs, 1 sack, and 1 pass breakup. Sophomore Huldon Tharp was disappointing after showing so much potential in 2009, accounting for 22 tackles (14 solo). Another year of eligibility was wasted by sophomore Prinz Kande, who can’t quite seem to figure it out. Although he is a tweener (a little too small for a LB, and a little too big (and slow) for a safety), I still have high aspirations for him (although they are a tad reserved now). Kande had just 17 tackles (10 solo). Freshman Ben Heeney recorded just 8 tackles (5 solo), but most of them came as a gunner on special teams. When he laid the wood, he really laid the wood. He also blocked a punt. Expect a lot out of this young man. The same goes for freshman Collin Garrett, who only had 7 tackles (2 solo). He is the kind of guy that could make the 2 deep in fall camp, and win the job early in the year.

      

Secondary:   
The secondary forced just 2 interceptions in the first 5 games, but then 6 interceptions in the last 5 games, including 3 against James Franklin and the Missouri Tigers. The bump in productivity was sparked by #24. Junior SS Bradley McDougald really stepped his game up near the end of the season, he had 2 interceptions for 86 yards and 1 TD, 89 total tackles (64 solo), 5 TFLs, a sack, 5 pass breakups, and 1 forced fumble, becoming a ball-hawk, and the rest of the defense followed in turn. Junior CB Greg Brown improved steadily and is somebody that new DC Dave Campo is especially fond of; he had 2 interceptions for 20 yards, 43 total tackles (24 solo), 1.5 TFLs, 3 pass breakups, and 1 forced fumble. The linebackers and d-line started to win me over, but for the two steps they took forward, the rest of the defensive backs took three back. Sophomore NB Tyler Patmon took several steps back on his own in his sophomore campaign; he had 1 interception for 42 yards, 43 tackles (29 solo), 2 TFLs, 4 pass breakups, and 2 QB hurries. Senior CB Anthony Davis had 1 interception for 7 yards, 1 22 yard fumble return, just 14 total tackles (13 solo), 2 pass breakups, and 1 forced fumble. The most disappointing player was “freshman” FS Keeston Terry, who although he had 1 interception for 5 yards, 66 tackles (35 solo), 1 TFL, and 2 pass breakups, he was out of position often and was burnt when he actually was in position. Senior CB Isiah Barfield had 35 tackles (25 solo), one TFL, 5 pass breakups, and one forced fumble. Junior S Lubbock Smith had 25 tackles (18 solo) and 2 forced fumbles. Freshman CB Dexter McDonald had 17 tackles (9 solo). Freshman DB Victor Simmons had 14 tackles (8 solo) and had 1 forced fumble, showing some promising potential. Sophomore DB Dexter Linton had 9 tackles (5 solo). Freshman DB Ray Mitchell had 8 tackles (5 solo). Junior DB Tyler Hill had 2 solo tackles. Junior DB Corrigan Powell had one assisted tackle.